Mikko Hirvonen/Subaru test notes 2003-12-22

Hirvonen impresses on Impreza debut.
The Subaru team's latest recruit, 23-year-old Mikko Hirvonen, got behind
the wheel of an Impreza WRC2003 for the first time on Friday (19th) and
quickly showed the sort of intuitive talent that has earned...

Hirvonen impresses on Impreza debut.

The Subaru team's latest recruit, 23-year-old Mikko Hirvonen, got behind
the wheel of an Impreza WRC2003 for the first time on Friday (19th) and
quickly showed the sort of intuitive talent that has earned him a place
in the team for 2004.

Mikko Hirvoinen.

Photo by Subaru World Rally Team.

After driving more than 300kms up and down a 3.5km tarmac road near the
French Alpine town of Gap, Mikko and the team's Principal Engineer,
Pierre Genon were both pleasantly surprised at how quickly he'd adapted
to the new car. By the end of the day Hirvonen was setting times not far
behind those of his teammate and current World Champion Petter Solberg.
"It was a quite a surprise," said Mikko. "I thought it would be much more
difficult to get used to, but it seems the car is easy to drive, very
stable and much smoother through the corners than I was expecting. I
didn't expect to develop this good feeling quite so soon, so I'm very
happy."

As most of his WRC experience has been gained driving a Ford Focus, Mikko
and the rest of the team were anxious to see how he'd get on in the same
version of the Impreza he'll be starting next year's Monte Carlo and
Sweden rallies with.

The day before taking the wheel himself, Mikko had benefited from a few
hints and tips on driving the car from Petter. With Hirvonen strapped
into the co-drivers seat, Petter turned tutor for a dozen passes through
the test road, sharing suggestions on how to get the best from the car
along the way via the helmet intercom. "That was very useful, said Mikko.
"He talked about the tyres and driving style, how he brakes, uses the
diffs, that sort of thing. When we got to the end of the stage and had
turned the car around we had a quick discussion about the trip, and away
we went again. The main thing that I knew I'd need to adapt was my
braking style on approaching corners. I'm used to braking very late and
very hard, but the Impreza performs better with a more progressive and
smooth approach to the corners. It was a very good experience, but I
wouldn't say I enjoyed it too much - no matter who's driving, I still
find sitting in the co-drivers seat pretty scary."

Early on Friday morning Mikko and co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen set off on
their first few solo runs. Pierre Genon said: "The day was mainly about
familiarisation. We left the car with exactly the same set-up as Petter
had used the day before and Mikko got in and did 100kms just to get a
feel for it. The conditions on the road were quite muddy and slippery but
he got to a good pace very quickly. In the afternoon we experimented with
some very small set-up changes but concentrated mainly on evaluating some
of the Pirelli tyres we'll be using in Monte Carlo. All in all it was a
very good day."

Mikko tested again on Saturday, when he concentrated on trying the
various Pirelli tyre options available for Monte Carlo. "We were driving
a tarmac stage on studded snow tyres," said Mikko. "It's a position you
can often find yourself in on the Monte Carlo rally, so it's a good idea
to see just what's possible in those conditions."